His Promise
by Redwing
Summary: Eomer and Aragorn have been separated for many years, and the circumstances under which they meet again are not promising. Will Eomer hold up his promise to the future King of Gondor, or will they be shattered beyond repair? *Aragorn/Eomer slash!* ~CHP 1~


His Promise  
  
Author: Redwing  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Summary: "A promise, pledged years ago." Eomer and Aragorn have been separated for many years, and the circumstances under which they meet again are not promising. Will Eomer hold up his promise to the future King of Gondor, or will they be shattered beyond repair? *Aragorn/Eomer slash*  
  
Disclaimer: LOTR does not belong to me. The plot however, does. Although, if Tolkien hadn't written Lord of the Rings, I doubt the plot would be here. *ponders*  
  
A/n: This is based on what happened in The Two Towers, therefore it is movie-verse. It's my first Aragorn/Eomer fic- the plot bunny wouldn't go away. Kept waving its furry bum in my face. This is also likely to be a trilogy- sort of fits. LOTR and all.Please R&R, cos its always nice to know what others think! =)  
  
~*~~*~  
His Promise  
"Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?" Aragorn, son of Arathorn, called.  
  
The horsemen wheeled and turned, surrounded them.  
  
Beside him, Legolas tensed, and Gimli stiffened. Aragorn blinked, confused. Why were the Rohirrim assuming a hostile position? Surely Saruman had not penetrated this far?  
  
"What business does an man, an Elf and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark?" Eomer, Heir to the throne of Rohan, boomed, his deep voice demanding attention and respect; a sneer on his face.  
  
Aragorn was stunned as much as he was offended. Did Eomer not recognise him? It had been many years, yes, but surely the Rohan warrior had not forgotten him, and what had passed between them?  
  
His promise?  
  
Spears pointed at them from all sides. Gimli, damn his stubborn arrogance, stood tall- well, tall for a Dwarf. "I'll tell you my name, horsemaster, if you tell me yours."  
  
Eomer frowned and dismounted from his horse. He strode forward to the Dwarf and leered down at him. "I would cut off your head, Dwarf," he spat, "If it stood but a little higher from the ground."  
  
The rest of the Riders of Rohan laughed. The laughter was cut short as Legolas pointed his bow at Eomer. "You would die before your stroke fell." He snarled.  
  
"Legolas!" Aragorn cried. Motioning to the Elf for him to lower his bow, Aragorn introduced them. "This is Gimli, son of Gloin and Legolas of the Woodland realm." He paused. "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn."  
  
Eomer's head snapped up and they stared into each other's eyes. Aragorn saw an emotion flit through Eomer's murky brown eyes; recognition, maybe? Then a nervous glance to his men, and his face bore a resemblance to steel- cold and featureless.  
  
Aragorn's heart clenched at the Rohirrim's reaction. He hollowly explained their situation, their quest, and the answer he got back was as bad as he'd feared.  
  
"We left none alive." Eomer's voice betrayed emotion that his face hadn't. He apologised sorrowfully. There was a heavy silence until Eomer barked out two names.  
  
Two well-bred Rohirrim horses came at his call. "Take these two horses," he said, almost apologetically, "may you have better luck than their previous owners."  
  
He turned, and remounted. The legion of horsemen started forward, but Eomer turned back around. "We were banished from Edoras." He paused, and Aragorn looked up. Eomer met his gaze squarely. "Do not trust a hope in these parts. Rohan knows neither friend nor foe."  
  
Brown eyes stared into blue-grey, and memories of a promise pledged years ago burnt between them, before it rode away with the blonde haired warrior.  
  
~*~~*~  
  
As they searched through the Uruk-Hai carcasses, and found nothing but a burnt Hobbit sword-belt, the realization of what they were chasing hit Aragorn. He kicked an orcish helmet and screamed his frustration, then dropped to his knees and buried his head in his hands. Legolas and Gimli were unsure of what to do- Aragorn had never lost hold on his emotions like this before.  
  
Glancing out between his fingers, Aragorn noticed a flattened area of grass, and another, just beyond it. Too small to be made by Uruk-Hai or orc, but just about the right size for, say, a Hobbit.  
  
Hope flared again inside him.  
  
He bounded across the ground, calling out to the other two as he went. Following the prints, and analysing the pattern, he quickly came to an understanding of what must have happened.  
  
Gimli looked doubtful and cynical, Legolas nodded in agreement and understanding.  
  
Merry and Pippin were still alive.  
  
~*~~*~  
  
Legolas spoke softly to him in Elvish, and Aragorn silently agreed. Something was wrong, in these woods.  
  
Granted, it *was* Fangorn Forest.  
  
But the Hobbits' tracks had lead in here- their search couldn't be stopped because some madness had driven Merry and Pippin into a feared forest.  
  
And Legolas could hear the trees talking- creaking, Aragorn would have called it, but the Elf had a deeper connection with the elements than any human could. And when a series of loud, eerie sounding 'creaks' made the forest vibrate, Aragorn was struck by a chill of fear. Human or not, even he could not ignore what was going on around them. Gimli reacted by grasping his heavy battle axe in front of him- and the trees stirred more. Legolas looked imploringly at Aragorn.  
  
"Gimli! Lower your axe!"  
  
Gimli obliged, somewhat unwillingly. The air around them stopped; suddenly. Not a leaf moved, and the trees stopped stirring momentarily.  
  
"The White Wizard approaches." Legolas stated softly.  
  
"Everyone, get your weapons ready. Do not give him a chance to cast a spell."  
  
They stood on their guard, weapons at the ready. "Now!"  
  
A white light stunned them, averted their eyesight, but that didn't stop Legolas from loosing an arrow to the light's centre.  
  
The arrow burst into flames and fell to the ground. Aragorn and Gimli brandished their weapons- would've attacked, had not the steel they held burnt their hands.  
  
Now defenceless, they shielded their eyes. "Show yourself!" Aragorn commanded.  
  
The light lost its overwhelming brightness- the figure in front of them stood cloaked in a dazzling white.  
  
Aragorn was stunned; shocked. Gimli was speechless; Legolas looked like he'd just been clubbed over the head.  
  
"It cannot be." The Ranger whispered.  
  
Before them stood Gandalf. No longer Gandalf the Grey, but Gandalf the White.  
  
~*~~*~  
  
Well, there's Part 1. Like it, didn't like it? Should I continue it, or no? Please leave a review and let me know! 


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